The Legend of the Balance: What the Future Brings
by ROGsvgirl
Summary: Multifandom XOver. A band of intergalactic time travelers brings the BtVS and AtS crews back together. What can a futuristic battle brought into the present reveal about two souled vampires, the Slayer line, and the fate of the universe? CHAPTER 6 UP!
1. Vampires, Wormwholes, and Pencils

A/N: This is my ultra crossover story. It incorporates many different series, among them BtVS, AtS, Farscape, Highlander, and Stargate SG-1. I'm planning on writing a prequel after this story but I will try to explain all the potentially confusing stuff as I go along.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any of the above series. I will have several original characters in this series, who I will cite as I go along. The first of these is Mina.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
The alley was dark and dirty, as the alleys of Los Angeles often are at three in the morning. Garbage lined the walls next to a dumpster, positioned between the back doors of a nail parlor and a pizza joint that opened into the alley. Both were closed at this hour. It was so late that nobody would think of coming anywhere near this particular alley. In fact, there was no one around for several blocks, a rarity in so crowded a city. Nobody was there to see the flashes of light that illuminated the alley. No one noticed the huge gaping whole that opened in mid-air just to the right of the dumpster. And when a group of figures emerged from the hole, which quickly closed up behind them, no one batted an eye. There were no eyes to bat.  
  
The figures that had emerged from the wormhole into the dark L.A. night were a raggedy band. Only a handful of them looked even vaguely human. The shortest of these struggled in the grip of a more alien looking female. The older female looked around wearily, while trying to keep a firm grip on the child in her grasp. She barked something to the others, in her native language. To most humans, it would have sounded like an unintelligible set of clicks and growls, but what her companions heard was: "Where the frell are we?"  
  
"How should we know?" gurgled a froglike silhouette, "It was your idea to capture the brat. It was your idea to jump into that wormhole. Now we're the ones who are supposed to figure out where in Hesmanna we've ended up? You aren't paying me enough for this."  
  
"Don't you talk to the Empress that way, you piece of dren!" a tall figure ordered. He practically hoisted the frog-creature off his feet. In the ensuing scuffle, the child finally managed to wrench itself from the Empress's grip and take off running. Before anyone else could react, another portal opened. It was just big enough to admit a tiny body, closing immediately afterward .  
  
The frog-creature growled. "Great! Now we're completely frelled."

Spike was bored. And when a vampire, with an alias like William the Bloody, picks up a case of ennui, most people would not consider it a good thing. This held especially true for the CEO of Wolfram and Hart. Currently, the vampire called Angel sat across from his grand-Childe, trying his best to finish the paperwork in front of him. This was not so easy, considering the fact that Spike had just spent twenty minutes using Angel's electric pencil sharpener to make razor sharp tips on several packs of #2's. He was now throwing them at the older vampire's ceiling, trying to get them to stick.  
  
Finally, Angel looked up at the bleach blonde and glared. "You know, I just had the most comforting thought."  
  
"Oh, yeah? What was that, Peaches?" Spike replied, throwing another #2 skyward.  
  
"I imagined that one of those pencils fell out of my expensive plaster ceiling, turned in mid-air, and permanently put me out of my misery."  
  
The blonde smirked, "Taken the brooding to a new level, have we? Thinking about suicide now?"  
  
"No simply amusing myself with images of you, staking yourself with a pencil."  
  
The younger vampire held up two fingers in British salute. Before he could respond vocally, though, he was interrupted by a green demon in a bright purple suit bursting into the office.  
  
"You guys have got to see this! It's a big...swirly... electric blue... thing!" Lorne made a frantic motion with his hands and then ran out of the office just as quick as he'd come in.  
  
Angel looked perplexed. It was very rare to see Lorne so ineloquent or spastic. Spike jumped out of his seat with the excitement of something to do that was unrelated to writing utensils. The two vampires entered the lobby outside Angel's office to find that Lorne hadn't been kidding. There in the middle of the room, there was indeed a big, swirly... thing. Angel was able to recognize it as a portal through time and space, even though it didn't look much like the ones he'd encountered before. That didn't explain what it was doing in the middle of his lobby, though.  
  
There was very little time to ponder the portal, however, before it expelled a small, darkly clothed figure and disappeared again. The small creature expelled by the portal scrambled across the lobby in full view of all of its occupants and hid under the stairs to spite the lack of cover therein. The steps were suspension engineered and weren't exactly the best place for concealment.  
  
Angel looked around the other faces in the lobby for any explanation as to what was going on. Harmony looked as clueless as always. Spike simply arched his scarred eyebrow. Wesley, who had exited his office, looked completely clueless. Gunn was somewhere going over legal briefs. Fred was immersed in work down in her lab. Lorne looked just as baffled as the rest. So, that left him to figure out what was going on with the small bundle quaking under the stairs. Surprisingly, Harmony was the first to round the stairs and approach the newcomer. "Um, hello."  
  
A little face peaked out of a sea of black. Harmony took a few steps closer, and the little girl suddenly burst into tears. The secretary backed off, turning to her boss for help. "Angel! She's crying! Do something!" She turned back to the child. "Don't cry! Whatever's wrong, it'll be alright."  
  
Angel approached the pair. He kneeled down a few feet from the girl and held out a placating hand. "Hey, it's alright. No one here is going to hurt you."  
  
The cherubic face reappeared and Angel was struck with the odd mental image of his estranged son Conner. The black scarf covering the girl's hair fell back a bit revealing a head of hair that was streaked in equal parts black and platinum blonde. The vampire found this odd in one so young. She couldn't have been more than four or five. He smiled. "Hey."  
  
She spoke one word in a beautifully flowing language that Angel didn't recognize, scrambled over the few paces between them, and threw her arms around Angel's neck. The vampire looked questioningly at Wesley who shook his head. He didn't know what the word meant either. Angel picked up the girl, who was dressed in all black, with the exception of a dark blue t-shirt that matched her eyes. He took her into his office, followed by his employees, and sat her on the couch. The dark haired man had a hard time dislodging the girl's iron grip around his neck, but managed the feat after a few minutes.  
  
Again, she broke into tears and Angel had to reassure her that she was safe there. This elicited a snort from Spike. The older vampire glared at the blonde then returned his attention to the child. Lorne slipped down in the seat beside her and put a comforting arm around her. The dark-haired vampire smiled softly at her again.  
  
"My name's Angel," he said. "That's Harmony," he indicated the blonde vampiress, who waved good-naturedly. "The green guy is Lorne. The man with the glasses is Wesley, and the goofy blonde is Spike. Don't worry about him. He's harmless." The last bit drew a growl from the younger vampire. To everyone's surprise the girl started giggling. Angel asked, "Can you tell me your name?"  
  
The girl looked confused and mumbled something again in the language she'd used before. She paused as if recalling something she'd forgotten and then spoke in English. "Mina."  
  
"Mina? That's your name?" Lorne asked. She nodded.  
  
"Where did you come from Mina?" the dark-haired vampire inquired.  
  
"Moya." she replied simply. Her eyes began to water again. "I want my Mommy."  
  
"Where is your mum, Bits?" Spike piped in. He shrugged at the incredulous look he got from Wesley. "Hey, I'm evil. Not heartless."  
  
"She's on Moya."  
  
When it seemed Mina wasn't going to elaborate, Angel tried another tack. "Do you know where your daddy is?"  
  
This threw Mina into a fit of giggles. "He's dead silly."  
  
They failed to see why this was funny and asked her. Mina looked matter-of-factly at them and retorted. "Daddy was always dead." She pointed a finger at Spike and then at Angel. "He's like you."  
  
She then addressed him in her own language again using the same word. Angel was taken aback by the implication that her father was a vampire. Wesley, however, couldn't hold his tongue any longer and interrupted his boss. "What is that language you keep speaking, Mina?"  
  
"Sebacean." she said simply. For some reason she had taken to blatantly staring at Spike, who resolved to stare right back at her.  
  
The former Watcher ignored this and continued, fascinated. "I see. Is that a demon language?" She shook her head and giggled some more. He tried again. "But that word, why do you keep saying it to Angel?"  
  
Mina fidgeted. "It's what he is."  
  
The others gaped at her. Spike spoke up, his stare unwavering. He had the odd notion that he knew this child somehow but couldn't place her. "You know what he is?"  
  
The girl nodded. Angel's brow furrowed. "That word you called me before...it means vampire?"  
  
Mina snickered. "No silly.'Vampire' means vampire. And Sebaceans can't say 'vampire' anyway."  
  
"Then what does it mean?" Harmony countered. Mina just rolled her eyes.  
  
"It's his name!...Peaches!"  
  
Angel began to cough uncontrollably in shock. Spike deepened his stare. He was the only one who ever called his grand-Sire by that name. It dated back to an incident in the early days of their vampire band, involving Angel, Darla, and a plate of candied fruit. As far as the blonde vampire knew, no one else was even aware of what it meant.  
  
The others murmured excitedly. Lorne was the first to recover and address Mina. "Baby cakes, where did you get that name from? Why do you call Angel …Peaches?"  
  
The girl seemed to think this over a moment. "Mommy always calls him Peaches. She said my Daddy used to call him that. No one in our family calls him Angel, 'cept Aunt Chiana and Pilot."  
  
"Is this ringing any bells, boss?" Harmony inquired.  
  
Angel shook his head. He'd never met any of those people. "Never heard of them."  
  
Again Mina giggled, "You're all funny! You don't know anything."  
  
"What do you mean, luv?"  
  
Mina stared at Spike again and looked slightly chastised. "I just meant cause he was sayin' he'd never met my Mommy or Pilot or Aunt Chiana. 'Course he hasn't met them. There still in the future."  
  
Again, the group was stunned. This little girl was from the future? Well, it wasn't totally out of the realm of possibility. Considering her abrupt entrance into their lives, and her odd style of dress, it was entirely possible. That took care of some questions, but created many others. Angel decided to voice one. "In the future, how do I know your mommy and those other people?"  
  
Her little brow creased in thought. "S'complicated."  
  
"Just start with the simplest ways. Who are these people to me?"  
  
"Oh, okay! Pilot is our pilot. Moya is our ship. And Aunt Chiana is your wife. Only she was Uncle D'Argo's wife first. But he died. Then, you two got married. "  
  
Angel had given up being shocked as a given at this point. "Okay. So what about me and your mommy? Are we friends?"  
  
"Yes." She replied still creasing her brow. "But that's what's complicated. Mommy says you were my Daddy's mommy's daddy… in the vampire way. So you're like my great-great grandpa. Only, me and mommy aren't vampires.... Mommy was daddy's Mate. So, you're…I dunno. All I know is we're family."  
  
Angel turned to face Wesley who was obviously working out the whole explanation in his head. Wesley nodded before saying. "I think she's saying that you were her father's grand-Sire. Her mother was Mated to her father. So, both she and her mother are part of your vampire family."  
  
"Yes!" Mina shouted excitedly, glad that she'd been understood.  
  
"But that would make her father a vampire and vampires can't have children."  
  
"Look who's talking, Peaches."  
  
"That was a very special circumstance!"  
  
"Perhaps," Wesley interjected, "in the future, vampires have found a way to reproduce other than Siring."

"That's all well and good, kiddies. But can we get back to the issue at hand? Like…" But Lorne was cut-off by an indignant huffing sound coming from the seat next to him.  
  
They all turned their attention back to Mina, who had crossed her arms over her chest during their little discourse and was presently glaring at Spike. After all the staring, she seemed to have finally decided she didn't like him. "You're not my Daddy."  
  
Spike gave her an odd look. "Of course I'm not your pop, luv. I…"  
  
She cut him off too, shouting, "I want my Daddy!"  
  
"We can't get your daddy, Mina." Angel said calmly, hoping to placate the increasingly angry child. "We don't know where he is or even who he is."  
  
"Oh! I know this!" cried Harmony, seemingly coming out of her own little world. Of course they all ignored her in favor of the screaming girl.  
  
But Mina refused to calm down. She just kept screaming, "I want my Daddy," over and over. After a few minutes, she turned her head to the ceiling and demanded of no one in particular, "Do you hear me? I want my Daddy! The bad people are coming and Mommy is too! But she can't stop them stop them without Daddy ! I WANT MY DADDY!"  
  
The tiny girl screamed this last part and the room began to shake. A bright light emitted from a point in the ceiling just above Spike who backed up to the couch quickly, not knowing what was about to happen. The light grew to a blinding intensity and a nude figure dropped out of the ceiling, landing with a thud on the carpet. The light disappeared and they were faced with the extremely pissed off countenance of the vampire before them.  
  
Mina tugged at the duster sleeve of the shocked bleach blonde vampire nearest her. He looked utterly dumbfounded. The girl repeated herself, pointing at Spike, "You're not my Daddy!" She pointed at the growling creature on the floor. "That's my Daddy."  
  
"I knew it!" Harmony cried. There, on the floor, lie a groggy, spiky haired, tattooed, and naked William the Bloody.


	2. 3 Women and Some Ice Cream

Chapter 2

The Italian wind blew briskly through the hair of one Dawn Summers. She loved Rome. It was so different from California. Yes, they were both hot, and yes there was the occasional demon or vampire to deal with. But all the memories of pain and loss she'd endured the past few years seemed to be washed clean by the bright rays of the Italian moonlight. The recollections of events were still there, but the hurt was less now. Now, Dawn could concentrate on more important things, like helping her sister fight the good fight. Although, tonight that help had turned her into a gopher for gellatti, she didn't mind all that much. She had plenty of company in the form of Xander Harris, who had offered to help her carry the various tubs of ice cream for their band of super-heroes.

Currently, Xander was telling a very animated joke, during the course of which he'd almost dropped the Stracciatella twice. Dawn was even more amused by the fact that he was doing this with at least three different flavors of gelato smeared on his face from the cone he'd just eaten. They decided to take a short cut back to Buffy and Dawn's apartment. Though, in Sunnydale, they wouldn't have taken a route down an alley without being heavily armed, they had no problem with doing it here.

It occurred to them that it might have been wiser to take the long way around when they were cornered by several very ugly demons. They dropped the ice cream. Dawn drew the dagger she perpetually wore strapped to her ankle. Xander took out a few of his hidden stakes. They were about to call for back-up on Dawn's cell, but the demon's barely had time to look menacing before scattering in fear, for no apparent reason. Xander raised an eyebrow. "Is it just me or was that just a bit too easy?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth, than the air erupted right where the demons had been standing. A great swirling portal opened, emitting three figures. All three were dressed in a different weird fashion. All three were female. And all three were armed to the teeth.

Even more disturbing than their arrival method, garb, or arsenal, was the way they looked when they stepped into the patch of light flooding the alley. One was tall, with an athletic build and a posture that screamed authority. She had dark hair, pale skin, piercing blue eyes, was dressed in head-to-toe black, and had power coming off of her in tangible waves. The second was dressed in brown leather, reminiscent of the Amazons Andrew liked to watch on Xena. In her hand she held an ornate staff that looked like it was made from some kind of metal. She had bright red hair that was parted into two bundles. It looked like frightened porcupines on either side of her head. The really shocking part about her was that her face looked exactly like Dawn's. They could have been twins, but for the red hair and emerald eyes of the newcomer. The third woman wouldn't have stood out at all against her companions were it not for the fact that she moved like some kind of exotic bird and had skin that was various shades of gray.

They apparently had yet to notice Dawn and Xander, who had ducked behind some trash cans upon their arrival. The darkest of the group turned to the gray one angrily after doing a quick survey of her surroundings. "Well, she's not here. Are you sure about the coordinates, Chiana?"

Chiana took an object out of a large bag slung across her body. She looked at the thing, which vaguely resembled a glowing glass plate, and shrugged. She uttered a few phrases in a grumbling language that Dawn couldn't place. The dark woman grunted in frustration. "So, you're saying we're in the right time but the wrong place?"

Now it was the redhead's turn to speak. "Pilot warned us that we might not be able to get a bead on her location, Rox. You, yourself, said she was getting good at spacial wormholes. The fortunate thing is she only has enough strength to do one temporal shift. At least we know we're in the right time period."

"Thank you for that brilliant deduction, lieutenant." Rox glared. "You know, if you weren't my sister, Kira, I'd be tempted to throttle you."

Kira ducked her head. When she looked up again, her eyes were glowing, and she spoke in a more guttural voice. "Please desist from strangling my host. I do not want to have to repair her just yet."

"Tra'lana, you have yet to grasp the concept of sarcasm. I'm not going to hurt Kira. I just want to know where the frell we are! Is that so much to ask?"

Chiana mumbled something again. Rox looked even more irate. "Italy! What in bloody blue blazes was Mina doing in Italy? She's not even allowed to cross the walkway to Pilot's den on her own! When I find that bitch of a Scaran who took her, I'm gonna..."

The glowy eyed redhead cut her off. "Perhaps our time would be better spent trying to find some help in this time period, than threatening people who aren't here to hear it."

Rox nodded. "Right." She turned in the direction of the trash cans. "You! Yeah, you two hiding behind the garbage receptacles. Do you speak English?"

Dawn slowly inched out into the open with Xander dragging reluctantly behind, trying to pull her back to cover. It was no use. They'd been made. Dawn neared the group but stopped a safe distance away before saying. "Are you guys demons?'Cause if you are, just know if you hurt us, my sister'll kick your ass."

Chianna snickered. Rox looked annoyed. The redhead bowed her face again and looked up at them without the glow in her eyes and spoke in her original voice. "We aren't demons. We're just...travelers. We need your help if you're willing to give it. I am Kira of the New Amazons. This is my sister, Roxanne Crichton. That's our partner Chiana."

Xander eyed her suspiciously. "Yeah, like we're gonna believe a chick with glowing eyes who jumped out of thin air. She looks human." He pointed at Rox, then at Chiana. "But she's obviously a demon of some sort and you're not looking too homo sapien yourself."

Roxanne grunted. "This is a total waste of time! The longer we talk to these fekiks, the farther away Mina could be!"

"Relax!" Kira replied. "We're going to find her."

Chiana nodded and turned to Xander. She mumbled something in her own language that sounded vaguely like a question. Off the man's confused look, Roxanne glared at him and turned to her friend. "English, Chiana! Humans have no access to translator microbes in this time. And this dolt looks like he couldn't understand Nebari if he did have some."

"Hey!" Xander protested! "I have no idea what any off that crap that you just said means, but I don't like the sound of it! And... well... you're not human! You admitted it! Hah! Now, that part I got?"

Roxanne simply rolled her eyes. Chiana put a calming hand on her arm and spoke in clear English. "She's half human. But that's not the point. We need your help. If we don't find the little girl we're looking for, Earth and the rest of the universe could be pretty well frelled."

The mention of the fate of the universe caught Dawn's attention. "We could help you."

"Dawn!" Xander exclaimed." We do NOT help demons! Rule numero uno. Well, maybe not uno, but it's gotta be in the top ten!"

At this point Roxanne got fed up and walked right up into Xander's face. "Look you bloody ponce, we aren't demons. I'll make this real simple for you." She put her hand on her chest. "Me, half-Sebacean Slayer." She then pointed to Kira. "She, amazon Jaffa and host of a Tok'ra." She pointed at Chiana. "She, Nebari Seer." Roxanne, then poked Xander in the chest with her finger. "You, human frellnick who's wasting my time."

Before Xander could retort, Dawn cut him off. "But if you're not demon's, how did you create that portal-thingie?"

"Spacial-temporal wormhole." Kira clarified. "And you don't want to know. Trust me, the quantum physics of it hurt even my head. Suffice it to say that we can travel through time and space through the wormholes. Roxanne has the ability to make and control them with her mind."

Dawn nodded not really understanding, but taking Kira's word for it. "So what do you mean about the little girl?"

"She is the key to the fate of the universe." Kira replied. "If we don't get her back, the battle ground between Good and Evil will be overrun and the cosmos, as we know it, will descend into chaos."

Roxanne glared at her. "She's also a five year old little girl with no idea of where she is and who to trust, don't forget."

Kira looked sufficiently chastised. Dawn thought over it for a few minutes. The part about the girl being a key really resonated with her. If this Mina was as important as the women insisted, Dawn just couldn't leave them to their own devices. Dawn's instincts told her to trust them. "Alright."

"Oh, no. No. NO!" Xander cried. "We are not helping these people, Dawn! Buffy will freak! I mean, time travelers and wormholes?"

"Oh, come on." Dawn said, crossing her arms over her chest in the Summers' sign of determination. "Buffy would totally understand. She helps people all the time! Besides, if the fate of the universe is involved, she's gonna want to know about it. We'll just go to her and tell her the whole story and then have a big old research party."

"Um, I don't think that'll work." Chiana interjected. "See, we're working under a bit of a time constraint."

Dawn nodded finally putting together their conversation from before. The girl was constantly on the move, either with the people who had taken her or on her own. The younger Summers thought about her sister. What would Buffy do if she was in this situation? While Dawn contemplated the situation, Chiana's panel started to beep and glow again. All eyes turned to her.

"Is it Mina?" Rox asked anxiously.

Chiana nodded. "Someplace called Los Angeles. And she's holding steady. The read out shows none of the Empress' people within range. Mina must have gotten away."

Roxanne looked infinitely relieved. "Right. Then, we're off to Los Angeles. Wherever that is."

"LA?" Dawn asked. "We have friends in LA. We could take you to them."

"No we can't! What is this 'we' you speak of?" Xander interjected.

"Fine, then, I can take you to them." Dawn corrected, glaring at her friend.

"Buffy's not gonna like this."

Dawn let out a long suffering sigh. "Look the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Buffy can deal!" Seeing him shake his head hard enough to shake his eye patch loose, she placed a hand on his arm. "I believe these people, Xander. I know they're telling the truth. I can feel it. Now, I'm going to help them find that little girl with or without your aid."

"I can't do that." he replied, still shaking his head.

"Not to be pushy, or anything, but does that mean we can get the frell out of here?" Roxanne asked, plastering on her cheesiest fake smile.

"Don't you have to make travel arrangements or something?"

"True enough." Roxanne nodded. "Chiana? Coordinates?"

The gray woman showed her partner the readings she had on Mina's location. She nodded, her face twisting in a look of deep concentration. She held a hand out in front of her and the air seemed to take on an electrical charge. Then it erupted into swirling blue.

"Travel arranged." Kira commented with a smirk. It was a look that made her resemble Dawn so much, Xander almost had to smile.

Dawn then turned to the man who was like her big brother. "When you talk to Buffy and the others, make sure they don't freak out too much. Tell them I'll be at Wolfram and Hart. I'll be okay, Xander. I really will. I have to do this."

Seeing that he wasn't going to break through the younger Summers' determination any time soon, Xander nodded his assent. "Be careful, and at least take these."

Taking the stakes and dagger he handed her, Dawn gave him a peck on the cheek. "Don't worry too much."

"Come on people!" Roxanne shouted. "We don't have all night"

With that, Dawn followed the three other women in to the swirling blue portal. The portal closed up shortly after, leaving Xander Harris standing in an alleyway in Rome. He looked around, then sighed. "Buffy's gonna kill me." 


	3. People in Black Leather with Grenades

A/N: Okay, for anyone who is confused at this point. Spike, Angel, Wesley, Harmony, etc. (Basically all the people at Wolfram and Hart) are from Angel the Series. Buffy and all the Scoobies are from BtVS. Chiana, Moya, any mention of D'Argo, John Crichton or Aeryn Sun all have to do with Farscape. Now here is where it gets tricky. I have three original characters so far. Roxanne Crichton is a Slayer who is related to John Crichton and Aeryn Sun. Mina is half vampire, her father being Spike. Kira is a Stargate style Jaffa, who also hosts a Tok'ra symbiote (Tra'lana). She is also a member of a revival sect of the ancient Amazons. Everybody caught up? No? Don't worry, I'll elaborate as I go along. So enjoy! Read and review please!

Disclaimer: I own Mina, Roxanne Crichton, Kira and Tra'lana, and no one else.

Chapter 3

Spike contemplated the vampire on the other side of the glass silently. They'd been able to tranq him just long enough to get some blue jeans on him and tie him up. Seeing what was essentially a snarling, feral version of himself lashed to the wall of Wolfram and Hart's training room was just…weird. Add to that the fact he had a little girl, claiming to be his daughter from the future, standing right next to him and Spike was beginning to develop a headache.

Mina had her nose pressed to the glass of the two sided mirror. She was watching her "Daddy" intently. Spike had so many questions running through his head about her. How was it that he had a daughter? How had she come to be here, in this time, if she was from the future? And who the hell was letting his five year old little girl run around LA, not to mention the space-time continuum, by herself, anyway? _Whoa._ he thought to himself, _Get a hold of yourself, Spike. You're getting all paternal here_.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Angel, Wesley, and Gunn entered the small observation room that adjoined the training room. Spike joined them in a back corner of the room where the adults could talk out of earshot of the entranced child. "So, any insights into the other me?"

Wes shook his head. "Not really, as far as we can tell, he's operating completely off of his baser instincts. His demon is controlling him completely."

"Okay." Spike rolled his eyes. "Any insights besides the glaringly obvious?"

"Wes thinks what's happening with him is basically what happened to me when I came back from Hell." Angel said.

"Yeah but you died before that." Gunn interjected. "That Buffy chic stabbed you in the stomach and killed you."

"Yes, thanks for that reminder." Angel retorted sarcastically.

"What we can't figure out is how he…you…whatever, came back like that from the future." Wes explained.

"Unless, I died in the future."

As soon as the words left his mouth Spike winced. He'd lived in Sunnydale too long. There, they had what Willow called the "jinxed factor." As soon as you said something ominous aloud, it would invariably come to pass.

Wesley nodded. "But I can't think of anyway to verify that."

"I can." Gunn replied. "Ask the kid. If she knows about time portals and spaceships, maybe she'll know about this."

Angel nodded, approaching the little girl. They'd quickly determined that Mina was only comfortable around a select few of Angel's crew. She tended to cling to Angel himself, while, oddly enough she couldn't stand any of the human members of the group. She didn't like Gunn, Wesley, or Fred, but she was perfectly at ease with both Lorne and Harmony. She could only marginally tolerate Spike because, as she put it, he wasn't her Daddy…yet. Most of the time, Mina opted to just ignore everyone but Angel and the "other" Spike.

"Mina?" Angel called, coming to stand next to the girl.

Mina reluctantly turned her face away from the glass to face Angel. "Can I meet my Daddy now?"

"In a little bit." Angel replied, looking a bit confused. _She sounds like she's never seen her own father_. "Right now I wanna ask you some questions, okay?"

Mina nodded. "Okay, but after that I want to see my Daddy. Face to face."

Again, Angel gave her an odd look, then he nodded. "Do you know how your Daddy got here, Mina?"

Mina looked at him with a "duh" expression. "I called for him."

"Okaaaay." Angel replied, deciding to take another tack. "Do you know why you came through the portal, but your Daddy showed up the way he did instead?"

Mina became somber and stared at her hands. "Daddy died before I was born. The Powers had to send him back from the Afterlife."

"Why did they send him back from the Afterlife, Mina?"

"I told you, because I called for him." Mina saw the confused look return to Angel's eyes, and sighed. "The Powers like me. They say I'm important, so they listen to me."

Angel nodded, still not understanding totally. "But why did you call for him?"

Again Mina looked troubled. "The bad people are coming to get me."

"What bad people?"

Mina pursed her lips, shaking her head wildly, tears running down her face. "Mommy is coming to fight them but she's going to be too late. I had to call for Daddy. We need his help."

Angel stared at her for a moment, waiting for the child to elaborate. She only turned back to watch her father through the glass. Angel walked back over to his companions. Wesley and Gunn looked at him questioningly. Spike looked deeply disturbed.

"You heard all that?" Angel asked

The blond vampire nodded. "A right mess we've got ourselves into now, haven't we?"

Angel explained his conversation with Mina to Wesley and Gunn. For a while the men contemplated theories on the events of the past few hours. Spike remained deep in thought about his future. That was him on the other side of the two-way mirror, he could feel it. And at some deep level, he knew...he felt that Mina was his daughter. Even her smell reflected parts of himself. The whole thing was throwing him for a loop, which was not an easy thing to do to a hundred and twenty year old master vampire.

Now his attention was called to the fact that Mina was in danger. The very thought of this made him instinctively want to eviscerate any creature that dare come near her. But she had also spoken of her mother. _Mommy's coming_. Mina had said it twice now. _Mommy's coming to fight the bad people_. Would he know this woman when he saw her? He couldn't even contemplate loving anyone the way he loved Buffy. But whoever she was had born him a childe, and he couldn't believe that it had been out of something as empty as lust.

"Umm...guys?"

Gunn's plaintive voice dragged Spike out of his thoughts to look at the tall African American lawyer. As, it seemed to have done to Angel and Wesley too.

"Where'd the girl go?"

Spike's eyes swept frantically around the room. Mina was nowhere in sight. Then he looked through the glass and saw his little girl approaching his snarling alter ego. "Bloody Hell!"

"Oh, shit!" Angel cried followed his grandchilde into the training room, trailing the other two men. By the time they got to her, Mina was standing barely a foot from the bound vampire. The two were staring at each other intently.

Spike walked up and was about to pull Mina away when the "other" Spike began to growl fiercely and struggle against his ropes. Angel took a step toward the girl and his grand-childe, and the feral vampire howled even louder. The brunette vampire took a step back and the growling lessened slightly. Experimentally, he stepped up and then back again. It seemed, the closer anyone came to Mina, the more distressed the "other" Spike became. Angel turned toward "his" Spike, though he was loathe to think of the blond that way, and said, "Spike step back."

"Like hell I will! Bugger wants a row? Let him come and get it!" William the Bloody never backed down from a challenge.

No sooner had the words left his mouth, than Spike felt himself hoisted off the floor, his throat being crushed in. Apparently, his double had the same philosophy about challenges and had wrenched loose of one of his bonds. Angel and the others all took an instinctive step toward the blond vampires.

"No!" they heard Mina shout. From her pocket, she produced a small knife which looked deadlier than any child's Swiss army knife. She jumped up slicing through the rope binding the blue jean clad vampire's other wrist. He dropped to the ground, flinging the creature in his grasp across the room, knocking him unconscious.

Angel morphed into game face, readying himself as the feral Spike crouched, each poising himself to strike at the other. The "other" Spike looked ready to pounce but suddenly drew his head up, sniffing the air. Angel could smell it too. Blood.

All heads eyes in the room turned to where Mina stood. She held out one hand toward her father, whether she had sliced her palm intentionally or by accident when cutting the ropes seemed irrelevant. The little girl approached the growling vampire, whose eyes seemed to follow the movement of her hand as blood dripped down her fingers. Angel tensed up inside, just waiting for and dreading Mina getting attacked, but unwilling to provoke the blond vampire she called "Daddy."

Mina didn't seem nearly so worried. She smiled and traced her index finger across her father's upper lip. He flinched away as if she'd slapped him. As the "other" Spike licked the blood off his lip, yellow eyes melted into blue. A haze seemed to lift from his features and he said, "Annie?"

Finally satisfied there would be no attack, Angel swooped up the little girl into his arms. He growled his own warning back at the vampire on the floor, just for the satisfaction of it. The younger vampire's gaze followed this action and he looked confused. "Bloody hell, Peaches. When did you get here?"

* * *

Buffy Summers stood in the baggage claim of LAX, staring moodily at the bag carousel. Behind her, her best friend Willow Rosenberg looked on in worry. Buffy, and indeed all of the Scoobies had freaked when Xander had come back to the Summers' villa without Dawn. That week was one of the few times in almost a year that their core band of friends had been in one place, after the destruction of Sunnydale. Most of the group had scattered to the winds, looking for the new Slayers and trying to rebuild the Watchers council.

Xander and Dawn had gone out to get refreshments for the amassed Scoobies, including the Summers sisters, Willow and Kennedy, Giles, Andrew, Xander, Faith, and Robin, but only Xander had come back. When he'd related the story as to why Dawn was missing, Buffy freaked out even more. Apparently, Dawn hadn't been kidnapped by some unruly band of demons, she'd gone with the women willingly.

As soon as the, one but no longer only, Slayer had found out where her sister was headed, Buffy had booked the first flight to LA. Willow, Xander, and surprisingly Faith, had all insisted on coming too. Giles promised to stay near a phone even though he was tied up with some council business, going between Rome and England.

Because of Buffy's mood throughout the flight, Willow had thought it best to send Xander for the rental car as soon as they'd deboarded the plane. The blonde Slayer wasn't too fond of him at the moment. Instead, she was taking her frustration out on their luggage, heaving the last of their bags off the carousel.

Just then, Faith appeared beside Willow, holding a travel tray of iced mochas. "How's B?"

"I dunno." The redheaded witch shrugged. She took a coffee off the tray, giving Faith a grateful smile. "She's really worried about Dawn."

"We all are." Faith nodded. "D's not usually this reckless….That's my job."

At this point Buffy seemed to have rounded up all the bags. She took hold of the giant rolling suitcase that currently held most of the clothes that she and Dawn owned, and made her way to the exit. She passed her two companions only briefly to grab a mocha before heading out the door to the loading station outside.

Faith and Willow exchanged glances of mixed worry and irritation. The dark haired Slayer slung her triple-reinforced garbage bag over her shoulder while Willow grabbed Xander's duffel and her own messenger's bag. Soon they were packing the bags into the back ofan inconspicuous beige rental sedan. Willow was driving while Buffy sat in the passenger's seat with Faith and Xander in the back.

The trip toward Wolfram and Hart was made in awkward silence until Xander finally decided he'd had it with the cold shoulder treatment. "So tell me again why we're not calling ahead?"

Buffy rolled her eyes irratibly. "We don't want Angel to know we're coming. That way he can't warn them."

"Buffy, we don't know that he's gone evil." Willow reasoned softly.

"Can we not rehash the badness of Angel joining an evil law firm right now? I just wanna get in, get my sister, and get……"

Buffy's comment was cut off as Willow slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a black clad man who had run out into the street in front of them. As car horns sounded behind them, Faith stuck her head out the back drivers' side window and yelled an obscene comment at the top of her lungs, complete with hand gestures.

"What the hell was that?" Buffy's gaze traveled past Willow to where the man had run into an alley to the left of the car. Just as they were about to go forward again, another figure appeared. Apparently giving chase to the man, a similarly dressed woman vaulted onto the hood of the sedan, did a sommersault and hit the ground running in the direction of the alley.

"Turn left!" Xander cried out to Faith.

"Why?" Buffy asked, in full on alert mode.

"That was her!" Seeing confused looks from the women in the car, the brunette carpenter elaborated. "Bitchy time traveling demon chick!"

"Go!" Buffy barked out the order to Willow.

After making the turn, which was fairly difficult in the midday LA traffic, the Scoobies started down the alley, which was both filthy and barely wider than the car itself. All eyes were directed out their respective windows, looking for the darkly clad pair. It was Xander who finally spotted a flair of black leather over the top of a fire escape ladder leading up to the top of a building on their right.

As soon as he pointed it out, Buffy and Faith were out of the car like a shot. Buffy shouted out to her two best friends. "Stay there and keep the motor running!"

After scaling the fire escape it took the Slayers a moment to find their queries. There were several brick stair outlets blocking their view. Finally Buffy heard the sounds of a scuffle and she motioned to Faith to follow her and keep silent.

When they got to their targets, the man was on his knees. The woman, dressed very much like something outofThe Matrix, had one hand around his throat and the otheron a futuristic looking pistol. She was glaring at him, pointing the gun at his headas he jabbered on in a language that neither Faith nor Buffy understood.

"I really don't care about your motives, Peacekeeper," said the woman in perfect English, "Tell you what, since that Nebari control collar seems to be such a nuisance to you, why don't you tell me what I want to know, and I'll quickly put you out of your misery."

That was all Buffy needed to hear. "I really don't think that'll be necessary."

The raven haired woman's cerulean eyes snapped up to meet the blonde Slayer's. "Stay out of this. It doesn't concern you."

"I beg to differ. All this chasing stuff's got me all worked up. You wouldn't want me to feel left out would you?"

The woman straightened up to her full height, shrugging. "Suit yourself." Without looking at her captive who was stealthily trying to make his escape. She repositioned her gun, "Stay!" she shot him in the leg. "Good dog."

Immediately, Buffy charged the leather bitch. She aimed a roundhouse kick to the woman's midsection. Her opponent side-stepped, avoiding the kick. She countered with a one-two-punch combo to Buffy's face. The Blonde Slayer was able to block the one but couldn't stop the two.

Meanwhile, Faith was getting the injured man to safety. He tried to fight her a bit so she had to clock him over the head to render him unconscious. It didn't really hurt him, she reasoned, and she didn't have time to deal with a man ranting in a foreign language. The brunette Slayer propped the man up against one of the stair outlets, then ran to fight at Buffy's side.

The blonde Slayer was quickly finding out that Xander hadn't been kidding. This chick had to be some kind of demon the way she was fighting. That or she really was a Slayer. She was very fast and able to block most of Buffy's advances. The raven haired woman had definitely broken a sweat, but she was still holding her own against Buffy. When Faith joined in though, it became a whole new ball game.

The Slayers knew they had the woman on the ropes when Faith successfully planted her with a high kick to the chin. She reeled back, landing hard on the pavement and rolling to a stop at the edge of the building near the fire escape. Her back was to her adversaries. The woman was still... just long enough for the Slayers to begin to approach her. Suddenly, she rolled back into a crouch pitching what looked like a grenade over their heads. It soared through the air, dropping over the side of the building into an alley opposite from the one they'd started in.

This distracted Faith and Buffy just long enough for the black haired woman to run past them at a dead sprint. Immediately, they gave chase. The woman dove off the edge of the building, her arms thrown wide, and they could hear her singing as she went down. The Slayers reached the edge of the building just in time to see the woman get caught by what looked like a net of white light. She had to have fallen at least four stories, but theshe stillcame out unscathed.

The Slayers watched in shock as she retrieved the grenade and ran to a nearby car. It was a dark blue convertible in which they could see a blonde woman with a pixie cut and a punky looking redhead. The car, speeding away, was being driven by none other than Dawn Summers.

"Well," Faith breathed after a moment, "There's something you don't see every day."


	4. Merry Meet

A/N: Finally a new chapter for your enjoyment. Hey, guys? Read and Review this story will ya? I'd really like to know if any one reads it and likes it or if I should just give up on it. Thanks.

Disclaimer: I own Roxanne Crichton, Mina, Kira, and Tra'lana. All Farscape characters belong to The Jim Henson Company and the Scifi Channel. BtVS and AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Stargate characters and themes belong to Sony Pictures Television and Double Secret Productions.

Chapter 4

The Scooby Gang's ride to Wolfram & Hart seemed to take forever. It didn't help much that the man sandwiched between Faith and Xander in the back seat, had woken up halfway there. He'd started ranting in his foreign language again and had tried to grab hold of Willow as she was driving. This time, it was Buffy that had had to cold-cock him.

When they reached their destination, the two Slayers had to drag the unconscious man along into the building. Willow and Xander took charge of finding parking while the Slayers proceeded into the law firm. Oddly enough, no one in Wolfram & Hart seemed to bat an eye at the fact that they were dragging a body along on their shoulders. The dead weight was making Buffy more irritable by the minute. By the time they got to the lobby of Angel's office, the sight of the blonde behind the receptionist's desk made Buffy want to scream.

"Welcome to Wolfram and Hart, how may I help you?" Harmony looked up from her paperwork to actually see the people she was speaking to and sighed. "Oh, it's you."

"Harmony, what the hell are you doing here?" Buffy shrieked. She'd have pulled a stake out of her pocket if she hadn't been helping support the body.

"Earning a living." The blonde vampiress said rolling her eyes. "What's it to you?"

Seeing that Buffy was about to explode, Faith interceded. "We need to talk to Angel pronto."

"Sorry, he's indisposed at the moment."

"Just get him!" Buffy growled through clenched teeth.

"Fine, fine." Harmony replied sniffing daintily as she picked up the phone and pressed the speed-dial button to Angel's office. "Boss, you've got some company here."

"I know you said… Yes, I realize you're busy….Hey, by the way, how is she doing?...She's so cute, you know."

Harmony was clearly getting sidetracked at trying to get Angel's attention and Buffy's last nerve finally snapped. She caught sight of Wesley walking into a spacious office. She dropped the arm she was holding, leaving Faith to hold up the sleeping man, and followed the ex-Watcher into what she assumed was Angel's office.

Spotting Angel talking on the phone immediately, she headed toward him, ready to rip the dark haired vampire a new one. Suddenly, Buffy's attention was directed away as the blonde man standing next to Angel turned to face her. Buffy's mind went blank as all her emotions came to a head at the sight of his face. The blonde Slayer did something she had rarely done in her life, she fainted.

When she heard the thud, Faith rushed into the office after Buffy, dragging the body along with her as best she could. Taking in the scene of Wes standing to the side looking shocked while Angel tried to grab Buffy's limp form out of a surprisingly lively Spike's arms, Faith let out a whistle. "You people don't have a boring day, do you?"

* * *

When Buffy came to, her vision was blurry, maybe to do with the fact that she'd hit the ground pretty hard on the way down. The first thing she saw as her vision cleared was a shock of white hair. Then, a set of stormy blue eyes came into focus. "Spike?"

"Yes, pet?" The words came out in that lovely British accent that she'd been longing to hear since the moment she saw him burn up in the destruction of the Sunnydale Hellmouth.

"You're alive."

"Not quite alive, luv. But I do take your meaning." Spike smiled softly.

The smile was wiped from his face with a sharp slap to the cheek. Buffy sat up like a shot, jumping out of Spike's lap. She looked furious. He remained on the couch rubbing his reddening flesh.

"You son of a bitch!" Buffy yelled. She was completely ignoring the other three people in the room in favor of the blond vampire. "How could you? How could you not tell me that you're alive! Do you have any idea what I've been going through these last few months without you?"

Spike stood up to his full height. "Evidently, a good many hours of snogging some git on a sofa. From what I hear you were able to move on pretty quickly."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Buffy looked shocked. What right had he to be angry? He was the one who'd gone and died on her, goddamnit! He was the one who had pursued her for years, and then just when she had worked up the nerve to tell him she loved him, he hadn't believed her. And then he'd gone and died to save the world. How dare he?

Spike huffed. "Don't play dumb with me! I'm talking about The Immortal, that's what I'm talking about!"

Faith let out a whistle. She exchanged looks with Wes, rolling her eyes. Angel had had the unconscious foreigner removed to a private room in the Infirmary. So, that left just the three of them to sit around and watch the blow up between the two blondes.

Buffy's mouth was working like a fish as she tried to come up with a response. There was a knock on the door and a man walked in holding hands with a little girl.

"Not to interrupt, but Mina's a bit peckish and I've forgotten where the cafeteria is."

The eyes of both Slayers bugged out at the sight of the second Spike. Buffy would have fainted again had it not been for the supporting arm of the leather dressed vampire behind her. She turned back and forth between the two. "What? How? When? What?"

"You already said that one." Angel commented.

"All the same, I second the 'how?'" Faith retorted. "And I raise you a "what the hell?"

"Perhaps, I should explain?" Wesley suggested.

"Perhaps." Angel agreed. "But while you do that, I'm gonna go check on our patient."

In truth, Angel just felt the need to get out of the room before Wes launched into one of his long and possibly boring explanations. Once he was gone, Buffy and Spike sat back down on the couch they'd been resting on after Buffy fainted. Their fight was momentarily forgotten.

Faith crossed the room and plopped down in Angel's leather office chair, kicking her feet up onto the desk. The Spike in the blue jeans, now wearing a white t-shirt as well, sat down in one of the leather arm chairs, scooping Mina into his lap. The little girl looked sleepy and layed her head on her father's shoulder. Only Wesley remained standing.

"Okay, explain." Buffy said the others were comfortable. Unconsciously, she threaded her fingers through her ex-lover's, causing Spike to smile again. "How is Spike alive? And where'd the other one come from?"

"As far as we know, the amulet that Spike was wearing when he collapsed the Hellmouth was able to house his essence. It was somehow returned here to Wolfram and Hart after Sunnydale was destroyed, and Angel unwittingly released Spike from its confines." Wes said, slipping easily into Watcher mode.

"Don't forget about the ghosty bits, eh?" Spike retorted

"Oh, yes. Spike was non-corporeal for several months until he got his body back. And he's been working here with us ever since. Well, if you could call it working."

"Hey!"

"Okaaay." Buffy said letting the information sink in.

"Okay that explains Spike #1." Faith interjected. "But what about Spike #2?"

"Ah." Wesley replied, his eyes lighting up. "That's a fascinating story. Apparently, he and the little girl are from about a century into the future. Evidently, there's a war going on around Earth in their time and this Spike was killed in it. Some of Earth's enemies were able to kidnap the girl and somehow transport her back here to our time, in order to evade capture. Mina was able to call him out of the Afterlife and into her past…our present. She needed help, so she came here, presumably out of an instinctual draw to Spike #1…as Faith calls him. And shortly thereafter, she was able to summon Spike #2. It was quite interesting to watch."

Buffy nodded, again trying to wrap her head around Wes' explanation. She turned to Spike #2. "By the way, is there anything else we can call you? You look so different from my Spike, and saying Spike #1 and #2 is gonna get old real fast."

The leather coated Spike smiled at Buffy's wording. _My Spike, indeed._ His expression was not lost on the Spike in jeans, who chuckled slightly, knowing exactly what had caused the smile. "You can call me Will if you like. Normally Angel and Annie are the only one's who use that name. But under the circumstances…"

"Who's Annie?" Buffy questioned. She might have been jealous at the mention of another woman if Spike hadn't squeezed her hand, reminding her of his presence. _That's right,_ she thought. _My Spike is alive. And we're gonna work things out, just as soon as we sort through this situation…And as soon as I find Dawn and kill her for running off._

Will mumbled something that made Buffy's eyes narrow nonetheless. "I'm sorry could you repeat that?"

"Annie's my wife." Will repeated, a mischevious smile coming to his face as Buffy's eye's widened again.

"You're married?" Faith asked, letting out another whistle when he nodded.

"You never mentioned having a wife." Wes said, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

"Well, yeah. How else do you think I got the kid?" Will replied.

His expression reminded Buffy of the way he used to look at Dawn when she was doing something idiotic. He was acting so gentle and paternal toward the girl in his lap. The Slayer had only ever seen him act that way around her sister. She had to remind herself that he wasn't her Spike. His spiky hair and wiser eyes gave that away, as did the little girl with him. The more she looked at Mina, the more she noticed the similarities in looks between her and Will. Buffy's heart sank.

"Sh..she's yours?" Buffy croaked out. "How is that possible?"

She looked at Spike for help, but he only shook his head. He didn't know either. His eyebrows knitted together at the stricken look that appeared on her face.

"I'm not real sure about that one meself." Will replied, his own eyebrows knitting together in an identical expression. Mina mumbled something around the thumb in her mouth. Will gently pulled her hand away from her face. "We'll have none of that, kitten. It'll ruin your teeth. Now what did you say?"

"Prophecy." Mina repeated, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"What prophecy, luv?" Spike said, shifting in his seat next to Buffy so he could get a better look at the little girl.

"The Prophecy of the Balance." Mina replied. "Mommy told me about it once, but I can't remember."

She turned back to her father, "I'm hungry. Can we eat now?"

"Sure, luv. What would you like?" Will replied. He rose out of his seat carrying her with one arm. Mina wrapped her arms around his neck and her small legs around his waist.

Thinking it over for a moment Mina smiled eagerly. "Can I have a Budong sandwich and Sarcalian Windsa Berries?"

Will chuckled. "You've been hanging around Rigel, haven't you? Well, I don't think they keep those sorts of things in the kitchens here. But, I might be able to rustle up some tuna salad and raspberries with cream."

"Hmm. Okay." Mina nodded eagerly.

"If you ladies and gents will excuse us, I have to tend to me girl." Will said. "Nice to see you again, Buffy."

Buffy didn't know what to what to say, but she was saved the trouble of contemplating it when Angel walked in. With him were Xander and Willow along with the now recovered man from the rooftop. Will had been walking toward the door, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw the man. Immediately, his face shifted into its demonic visage. He set Mina down and she hurried behind him. She said something in Sebacean that caused Will to growl menacingly at the man through his fangs. "Peacekeeper."

As soon as Will had shifted into gameface, the two Slayers along with Spike had sprung out of their seats. Willow and Xander stood behind Angel, looking startled at the sight of the two blond vampires while Wesley stepped back a few paces. Will had shifted from doting father to angry master vampire in a split second and everyone in the room took heed.

For his part, the Peackeeper looked terrified. He blanched completely as if he'd seen a ghost. He started rambling in Sebacean and backing toward the door. But Angel and the two Scoobies were blocking his exit.

"Oh no." Will replied in a voice that could melt stone. "As you can see I'm very much alive, Peacekeeper. You, on the other hand, may not be long for this world."

The Peacekeeper yelled something that sounded like a threat and a plea all at once. But when Will ignored it and started advancing on him, Buffy jumped in to stop him. "You can't kill him."

"Like bloody hell I can't." Will replied to her, his eyes glowing yellow with rage.

"He's human! You can't kill him." Buffy cried. This time, she put herself bodily between Will and the Peacekeeper. She took up a battle stance, ready to fight Will if need be.

Will let out a cruel laugh. "He's not human, Slayer. He's a bottom-feeding Sebacean flunky. An alien. He's also one of the people that helped kidnap my daughter."

Willow stepped out from behind Angel and stared hard at the Peacekeeper. He was looking around at all the occupants of the room as if looking for someone to save him. The redheaded witch's eyes went wide after a moment. "Buffy, he's right."

"What?"

"I scanned his aura." Willow elaborated. "This man isn't human. He's not a demon either. He isn't even from this planet."

Suddenly, the electronic collar around the man's neck started beeping just as Harmony walked into the room. She ignored the rest of the room and walked up to Angel. "Boss, there are some people here to see you. They said something about you having some of their property."

"I'm kind of busy now Harmony, tell them I'll be out in a minute." Angel replied.

"Oh but we don't have a minute to spare." Said a voice from the doorway.

Everyone turned to see who the voice belonged to. A creature with a gnarly, wrinkled white face and an abnormally long neck, walked in flanked by another Peacekeeper and what looked like a giant toad in a bomber jacket. She, for the leader was a female, had on a formfitting dress made out of some kind of space age polymer and she had a look in her eye that made even Faith's blood run cold.

Will began to growl menacingly again as Mina clutched frightenedly at his hand. The creature turned toward him as a surprised expression flashed across her face. "General Spike, this is a surprise. I was sure we'd gotten rid of you for good when we blew you up the last time."

"I'm not that easy to kill, Empress." Will growled. "But you'll have to manage it if you want to get anywhere near my little girl."

"Oh, I think we can manage that." The Empress replied. She gave an almost imperceptible nod and the frog-creature opened its mouth wide.

Will was the first one to notice and he threw himself, Buffy and Mina to the ground. Shielding them with his body, he yelled out to the others. "Take cover!"

Everyone hit the deck except Faith who got stuck behind Angel's desk. The last thing the brunette Slayer saw before the world went black was a ball of fire, a foot in diameter, erupt from the mouth of the frog-creature. And it was heading straight towards her.


	5. Alien Injuries

A/N: New chapter. Yay! I swashbuckled my writer's block and came out victorious. Enjoy. R&R please.

Disclaimer: I own Roxanne Crichton, Mina, Kira, and Tra'lana so far. Everybody else is property of their respective creators.

Chapter 5

Willow Rosenberg had a split second to react as all hell broke loose. Because of her vantage point from the floor, she couldn't really see who was attacking who. She briefly registered that the frog-creature was firing volleys of fire from its mouth in all directions.

The alien man that Angel had brought with them was dragging a tiny form across the floor. Meanwhile the other "Peacekeeper" fired what looked to be a gun of some sort at Angel and Spike, who were attempting to charge the Empress. Willow held up a hand in the direction of the "Toadie" as she'd mentally dubbed it, and sent a wave of green energy its way. It made a choking sound and ceased fire. The gunner was a bit more difficult.

Willow had to keep hold of the magical thread that was incapacitating Toadie. Having temporarily exhausted her offensive magic stores, she threw out two magical nets that wove themselves around the two vampires to act as forcefields.

Up until that point, the Empress had just been watching the show. However, as soon as the forcefields were up, Willow felt a heat wave surge over her. Determined to maintain the forcefields and the choke hold, she had no magic at the ready to protect herself. She screamed as she felt her back being burned from the heat the Empress was emitting.

Xander attempted to tackle the pasty alien, but was shot in the shoulder for his trouble. Suddenly, the forcefields collapsed. Willow was down. The Empress let out a shriek of garbled words to her flunkies. Without the witch's hold to impede him, Toadie sent a volley of fireballs toward the ceiling and the room was suddenly covered in white dust and debris.

When the dust settled, the first thing Spike could think about was his girl. "Buffy? You alright luv?"

A groan came from his right as his Slayer pushed a rather large piece of ceiling off of herself and Will. Spike was immediately at her side. "Yeah," she nodded, "I think some of my ribs are broken, but they'll heal. Anyone else still standing?"

"Yeah here." Angel waved from the wreckage of what had been his entertainment center.

Buffy and Spike were already surveying the place for survivors and he joined them. They found Faith in the far corner below the demolished desk. She had burn marks up and down her right side, having dodged awkwardly to the left to avoid the fireball. She was covered in broken glass and cuts as well from the shattered window behind her. Luckily for the vampires present, the weather was overcast outside, so the sun wasn't a problem.

Angel dug Wesley out from under the singed, overturned sofa to find his friend relatively unharmed, outside of a cut on his head and being unconscious. The people suffering the worst injuries were Willow, Xander, and Will.

Xander had been shot in his left shoulder. Unfortunately, the weapon used on him hadn't been a simple hand gun. Firing some kind of energy round, it had blown a golf ball sized hole into his pectoral muscle, which was beginning to seep blood from under the burnt tissue. Buffy shed her jacket and ran over to him, pressing the material against the wound to stem the blood flow.

Meanwhile, Spike ran over to Willow. The redhead was lying face down. Her clothes seemed to be fused into the skin of her back, where the heat wave had hit her. The burns had to be second-degree if not third-degree. Without touching her back, Spike turned Willow onto her side so he could check the pulse in her neck. It was thready, but it was there.

Buffy took a quick look at the damage before calling to Angel. "We need medics in here now!"

Angel had been tending to Will. Spike's double had been the first to hit the ground, but he'd taken some wooden splinters in the back when the Angel's desk had exploded. They weren't very deep, but one fairly large one had embedded itself close to the spine, just behind the heart. It was enough to incapacitate any vampire. When he heard Buffy call out to him, Angel's brain clicked into motion.

"Harmony," he mumbled, scanning the office for his secretary, "Harmony!"

The blond vampiress appeared at the doorway. "Sorry boss. I ran out and hid behind my desk when …"

"We need doctors up here ASAP!" Angel cut her off. "Call down to Medical and tell them we need paramedics and any magical healers we have on staff. Go now!"

Harmony ran off to do as she was told. The med team arrived minutes later. It wasn't surprising since the Medical wing and the Infirmary were only a floor below Angel's office. Immediately, they had EMT's, mages, and shamans of all kinds working on the injured parties. They quickly wheeled Faith and Xander off on gurneys for surgery in the Infirmary.

Wes's head was being bandaged by one of the EMT's while all the magical healers were gathered around Willow. Buffy was standing nearby, answering questions about what spells her friend had been casting at the time of the attack. It took two shamans, a voodoo priestess, and a green wizard to heal Willow's back but they were able to do it fairly quickly.

"She's stable, but her magic's been disrupted." One of the shamans informed Buffy. "I don't know what could have caused that to this magnitude."

"Will she be okay?" Buffy asked, steeling herself.

"She be awl'raight." The priestess answered in a thick Haitian accent. "Wit ani'wan else, ah tinks, they'd ah died instantly. But not dat one. Child has a lot of power. One cud even say too much."

While this exchange was going on, the remaining two medics were carefully removing the splinters from Will's back. When, the one behind his heart was removed, he let out a gasp and started coughing. The EMT's gave him one last look over before heading off to the Infirmary with Wes and Willow in tow. Will looked over the office, his eyes darting around. "Mina."

Buffy, Angel, and Spike were in conference with the supervising doctor when Will ran up to them. "Has anyone seen Mina?"

All their hearts sunk at once. They'd all forgotten the little girl in their haste to tend to their friends. Buffy swallowed the lump of guilt forming in her throat. "She wasn't in the debris when we looked."

"Empress Evileen must've taken her." Spike surmised

The phone rang, jarring everyone out of thoughts of Mina. Angel quickly dug it out of the rubble and answered it. After a few grunts of understanding into the receiver, his eyes went wide. He barked an order to the person on the other end. "Keep them there. Do you understand? Engage full lock-down of the premises! Under no circumstance should they be allowed to leave the building! I'll be right down."

When he hung up, Angel greeted the anticipating looks of the others. "That was security. They're being held in the main lobby."

At once the three vampires and the Slayer were in motion. When they got to the elevator, Angel veered to a door on its left saying, "The stairs will be quicker."

The stair well was wide but it seemed to go down forever. Will grunted in frustration, murmuring something that sounded like "frell this" before jumping over the hand railing through the gap between the staircases. He landed on his feet with a slight bounce at the bottom of the stairwell, before running through the door into the main lobby. Angel arched an eyebrow. Spike and Buffy just shrugged at each other.

"After you, luv?" Spike said holding a hand out to her.

"Don't mind if I do."

Buffy let him help her up onto the hand rail and quickly jumped down. Spike and Angel were right behind her. By the time they entered the main lobby, it looked like a bedlam. The aliens were barely being held off by a dozen commandoes in black Kevlar. Apparently, the Empress had left another two soldiers in the lobby to wait for her.

The majority of the commandoes were being picked off by a white giraffe-necked alien of the Empress' species, while Will was going toe–to–toe with a butt-ugly helmeted guy sporting a huge gauntlet around his arm. He was doing his best to get to the Empress, who was holding Mina's arm in a death grip. She was standing behind Toadie while he attempted to blast through the metal security panels that had slammed down to block the windows and the exits.

"Alright boys. Einnie, Meanie, Miney, or Moe?" Buffy asked the vampires behind her.

"I'll take Einnie and Meanie." Spike pointed at the two Peacekeepers, who were shooting at the commandoes.

"Moe." Angel replied, pointing toward the towering white alien.

"Guess that leaves me with Miney." Buffy said, running towards Toadie and the Empress."

A few minutes into battle, the three fighters realized that they were seriously out-gunned.

Angel's highly trained security commandoes were down to two. Spike was on the losing end of a pair of Peacekeepers. Angel had numerous burns and had been thrown repeatedly into a large potted plant. Will was balancing atop the metal Wolfram and Hart logo sculpture, barely holding his own against gauntlet-guy. And Buffy was doing her best at dodging fireballs, while trying to get to Mina.

All of a sudden, the large skylight in the ceiling of the lobby exploded, showering them with glass and metal. Fighting ceased momentarily as a dark figure jumped through it and plummeted to the ground in the middle of the battlefield.

The figure stood up from the crouching position she'd landed in, facing Toadie and the Empress. Buffy immediately recognized her as the woman from the rooftop. Her cold blue eyes twinkled as she rose to her full height. Pulling out two energy pistols, she shot one of Spike's Peacekeepers and Will's gauntlet foe before training the guns on the Empress' head.

"So," she breathed, sounding almost bored. "Is this a private party? Or can anybody join?"

Mina's face lit up. "Mommy!"

The woman'ssmirksoftened to a smile. "Hello cutie."


	6. Here's Mommy

A/N: Here's a new chapter for you guys. Sorry it's been a while. Enjoy and please R&R.

Disclaimer: Roxanne, Mina, Tra'lana, and Empress Jan'Ak belong to me. Everybody else is someone else's property

Chapter 6

Buffy Summers watched with bated breath as the Empress stared down her raven haired opponent. For the moment, there seemed to be a cease-fire, that could break down with the slightest move from either side. The Slayer weighed her options. She could take the chance to grab Mina, but the good guys would still be out-gunned. She couldn't risk starting up the fight again without the upper hand. Not with the little girl's life at stake.

The fate of all present seemed to be held in the staring match going on between the two females. When the Empress spoke, her usual cold tone was laced with a noticeable hint of agitation and possible fear. "Princess Roxanne. How nice of you to join us. I must say, I didn't expect you so soon."

"Well, what can I say?" The black haired woman replied. "I couldn't resist your invitation."

"An interesting entrance as always. But as you can see, I have the upper hand for once."

The Empress pulled a wicked looking blade from her garment, pressing it to Mina's throat. The little girl cried out as the blade scratched into her skin, drawing a trickle of blood. "Mommy!"

"It's alright baby. Mommy's here." The rest of Roxanne's reassurance was in gentle Sebacean. The tense stare she'd locked on the Empress turned into a death glare.

"To spite what you may think, Jan'Ak, you've got dren. And you've just signed your own death warrant."

"You're on unfamiliar ground, Princess. I've got you out-numbered and surrounded. And I've got all the leverage I need." The Empress smirked, caressing Mina's cheek with the blade. "I'm taking the girl and nothing you or these puny humans can do is going to stop me."

Roxanne's eyes dropped to the floor a second before meeting the Empress's again. "Well then, it's probably a good thing, I brought friends.

Roxanne let out a cry that sounded something like an Indian war call an instant before three more figures dropped through the skylight. These were all using ropes for the descent.

Again, all hell broke loose. Mina kicked hard backward into her captor's leg while biting down hard on her hand. The Empress let go of her hold just long enough for the girl to hit the ground and start rolling out of reach.

Angel used the momentary diversion to try to sweep his opponent's legs out from under him. Seeing that his attack would be easily blocked, the vampire changed tactics, bringing his knee up at the last second to catch the creature between the legs. The alien was unfazed, simply tilting it's head to the side and pitching him back into the potted plant.

"Great." Angel huffed, dragging himself up again, "it's a female albino giraffe."

"Nope."

A voice came from behind the giraffe creature. It crumbled momentarily as the voice's petite owner slashed into its side with an axe. She had pixie cut blond hair and moved like a tropical bird might, wielding the axe with a vengeance. She yelled out as she was fighting.

"He's a frelling male Scaran, is all. The blighters have internal mivonx!"

She threw Angel her axe, yelling. "Aim for the neck and joints! I'll go high and distract him."

The former Scourge of Europe watched as the girl seemed to do a mid-air flip, landing on a low hanging structural beam above giraffe boy's head. This wouldn't have surprised him if she hadn't landed on the bottom face of the beam. She was currently standing upside-down, running back and forth across the beam, and taking pot shots at her opponent with a set of Syhs. Angel shook his head slightly before going after the Scaran with the axe.

Spike continued his fight with the two Peacekeepers as if there had been no pause. Will was laying motionless atop the Wolfram and Hart sign, trying to avoid energy blasts from his opponent's gauntlet. He knew if he stayed still, the metal helmet covering the guy's eyes would keep him from looking up too much. All the same…

"Can I get a little help here!"

Buffy didn't hear his call, because her attention had been totally redirected with the arrival of the three newcomers. While the blond had gone to help Angel, she was more interested in the redhead and the brunette who had quickly run to the sidelines. The redhead seemed to be trying to explain her ornate Z shaped weapon to the brunette, as Buffy made her way over to the pair. They were huddled safely behind the main reception desk, and the Slayer ran quickly there to avoid fire.

"One to stun. Two to kill. Three to vaporize." The redhead finished saying before the Slayer caught her attention. She brought the end of her metal staff weapon up level with Buffy's chest before Dawn noticed and shrieked.

"No! That's my sister, Buffy."

The redhead's eyebrows shot into her hairline. The name obviously rang a bell for her. She regarded the blonde a moment more before nodding and lowering the weapon. Buffy took the opportunity to grab her sister's arm and scowl. "Dawn! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Dawn wrenched her arm away, giving her sister a defiant look. "Helping save the future. How 'bout you?"

"Can we leave the interrogation for after the battle?" The redhead asked.

Buffy glared at her. "Wait, who the hell are you?"

"My name is Kira. We can discuss the specifics later. Right now the first priority is to defeat the Empress's people and reclaim Mina."

"You kidnapped my sister!" Buffy growled over the din of the fighting. "How do I know you're one of the good guys?"

"You don't." Kira said turning her attention back to the battle. "But you don't really have a lot of options. I know the enemy better than you do, and I've got more fire power. Besides, it's my family on the line."

The Slayer thought about this for a moment and relented. "Okay, but if you screw me over, there won't be a place on earth for you to hide."

Kira chuckled a bit before becoming solemn again. "Okay, I'll take the Tavlek. Chiana's got the Scaran. What say you go after Shi'Ang?"

"The whaty what and the what?" Buffy said as her brow furrowed.

Kira rolled her eyes and pointed to the guy with the gauntlet, "Tavlek." Then she pointed to the albino giraffe battling Angel. "Scaran." Finally she pointed to Toadie, who had succeeded in melting a small hole in the metal window covers. "Shi'Ang"

"I got the Shi'Ang." Dawn said, holding up the weapon Kira had referred to as a Zat.

The redhead's eyes went wide and she pushed the gun away. "No! No."

Dawn looked hurt."Why not? I can fight."

"I know. Believe me." Kira replied. "But you never shoot at a Shi'Ang."

"Why the hell not?" Buffy asked. Just as the words left her mouth, a stray round from a Peacekeeper pulse pistol caught the Shi'Ang right in the gut. The result was a blast that rocked the ground and blew all the fighter's off their feet. Shi'Ang guts flew everywhere.

It didn't take long for the battle resume. Kira huffed and turned to Buffy. "Does that answer your question?" All she got was a glare, so she continued. "Alright, I'll take the Tavlek, you guys figure out the rest."

After a brief discussion, Buffy went to help Angel and the blonde with the Scaran, while Dawn jumped in to help Spike. Kira snuck up on the Tavlek, who was still firing at the Wolfram and Hart sign. She caught him upside the head with her staff, but he recovered too quickly. He got a shot off at her at point blank range.

Kira crumpled to the ground. The Tavlek walked up to her to make sure she was down for the count. As he was bent over her, Will took the opportunity to jump onto his back. The Tavlek bucked off the vampire and spun around, grabbing Will around the throat. While he was attempting to crush Will's vertebrae, the Tavlek didn't notice the redhead rising behind him with glowing eyes. She grabbed the side of his head. Her hand was covered with a device that emitted a surge of electricity. Kira held on, frying the Tavlek's metal covered brain until he fell over dead.

Will blinked, staring at Kira in shock. "Bloody hell, Summers. When did you get here?"

"Spike?" Kira croaked before slumping forward, unconscious. Will caught her before she hit the ground.

Across he room, pulse weapons had fallen by the wayside and Roxanne was fighting the Empress barehanded. Rox got in a lucky shot that doubled the alien over. Unfortunately, the Empress landed near the corner where Mina was curled up, hiding. Jan'Ak dragged the girl out of the corner with an iron grip, and pulled the knife on her again. Roxanne, who was advancing, stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the blade at her daughter's throat.

"I'll kill her, I swear it." Empress Jan' Ak gasped over the pain in her limbs.

As the Scaran dragged her into a standing position, Mina cried out to her mother. Jan' Ak sneered, poking the child in the ribs with her knife. "I want a wormhole out of here or I'll slit the narl up the middle."

Roxanne's heart twisted as she turned to Mina. She was out of options. "Mina open the wormhole."

"Mama?"

"It's alright baby. I'll find you. I'll always find you."

Roxanne watched as the portal opened. Tears streamed down her face as she watched the Empress disappear with Mina into the swirling blue gateway. When the wormhole closed, Roxanne fell to her knees, weak with a mix of despair and exhaustion. She didn't even notice the battle coming to a close around her.


End file.
